Please help me plan our exploratory trip to plan a retirement-in-Europe second home

[Anonymous]

Had a friend who had a house in Portugal. They had squatters break in, and it took them months to get it sorted.

Check out the squatter's law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:European here. Word of advice OP: don’t tell people in Europe that you’re “extremely well traveled traveled.” That would be social suicide and exactly the type of braggadocious behavior we’ve come to expect from Americans. And compared to us, I guarantee you’re not well traveled anyway. Maybe by American standards. Also don’t discount the difficulties you will have with language acquisition over the age of 50. I see Americans here all the time bumbling around with absolutely unintelligible Spanish and French. You don’t want to be that person.

OP doesn't need your snarky advice, she posted in shorthand on an anonymous message board. We all know what well-traveled means and if you think she is only well-traveled for an American, so what? This is DCUM, most of us are American.

PP here. Please, by all means, educate us. What does “well traveled” mean to an American? Florida plus Bahamas? .

Are you asking for a geography lesson of Europe v the United Statea?

I’m not sure what you’re asking. Visiting US States is not like visiting European countries.

I am asking if you need a geography lesson because the US is enormous. Europeans can hop on a train and be in another country the same way Americans might travel from state to state. Of course it is easier for Europeans to travel throughout Europe. That's not a flex.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:European here. Word of advice OP: don’t tell people in Europe that you’re “extremely well traveled traveled.” That would be social suicide and exactly the type of braggadocious behavior we’ve come to expect from Americans. And compared to us, I guarantee you’re not well traveled anyway. Maybe by American standards. Also don’t discount the difficulties you will have with language acquisition over the age of 50. I see Americans here all the time bumbling around with absolutely unintelligible Spanish and French. You don’t want to be that person.

OP doesn't need your snarky advice, she posted in shorthand on an anonymous message board. We all know what well-traveled means and if you think she is only well-traveled for an American, so what? This is DCUM, most of us are American.

PP here. Please, by all means, educate us. What does “well traveled” mean to an American? Florida plus Bahamas? .

Are you asking for a geography lesson of Europe v the United Statea?

I’m not sure what you’re asking. Visiting US States is not like visiting European countries.

I am asking if you need a geography lesson because the US is enormous. Europeans can hop on a train and be in another country the same way Americans might travel from state to state. Of course it is easier for Europeans to travel throughout Europe. That's not a flex.

OK sure. Visit Alabama and Austria and tell me which provided a better cultural experience. Or Norway and North Dakota. It’s not the same my dear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Had a friend who had a house in Portugal. They had squatters break in, and it took them months to get it sorted.

Check out the squatter's law.

That sounds like a nightmare! I assume they had to throw all their stuff out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:European here. Word of advice OP: don’t tell people in Europe that you’re “extremely well traveled traveled.” That would be social suicide and exactly the type of braggadocious behavior we’ve come to expect from Americans. And compared to us, I guarantee you’re not well traveled anyway. Maybe by American standards. Also don’t discount the difficulties you will have with language acquisition over the age of 50. I see Americans here all the time bumbling around with absolutely unintelligible Spanish and French. You don’t want to be that person.

OP doesn't need your snarky advice, she posted in shorthand on an anonymous message board. We all know what well-traveled means and if you think she is only well-traveled for an American, so what? This is DCUM, most of us are American.

PP here. Please, by all means, educate us. What does “well traveled” mean to an American? Florida plus Bahamas? .

Are you asking for a geography lesson of Europe v the United Statea?

I’m not sure what you’re asking. Visiting US States is not like visiting European countries.

I am asking if you need a geography lesson because the US is enormous. Europeans can hop on a train and be in another country the same way Americans might travel from state to state. Of course it is easier for Europeans to travel throughout Europe. That's not a flex.

OK sure. Visit Alabama and Austria and tell me which provided a better cultural experience. Or Norway and North Dakota. It’s not the same my dear.

Go away.

[Anonymous]

How do you plan on financing? I was under the impression that you can't get a foreign mortgage? Are you paying cash?

[Anonymous]

Why is everyone so offended by the op noting she is well travelled!! We know what she meant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP again. I spent a few weeks in Nice a couple of years ago, and was surprised by how much I enjoyed being there. Granted, it wasn't July or August and swarming with tourists. But really relaxing and a quick drive to so much. Would we get tired of it, I wonder? I was thinking we'd check out Villefranche-sur-Mer so as not to be smack dab in Nice but a very quick drive in.

Definitely look at villefranche and Beaulieu sur Mer. Beaulieu has a good size English population. Villefranche can get a bit overrun with cruisers. The train line runs through both so very easy to get to Nice/airport from there. We have an American friend with a condo there.

Not sure your budget will buy much in Villefranche or Beaulieu, or even Nice.

You might get better advice if you narrow down your criteria - do you want to be in a medium sized city? small village near a city? house or condo? walkable to shops or do you prefer something more suburban where you'd need to drive?

Consider posting this question on a UK site -- the British have bought a lot of second homes in Europe and areas where there are a lot of UK expats may be a good choice for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:European here. Word of advice OP: don’t tell people in Europe that you’re “extremely well traveled traveled.” That would be social suicide and exactly the type of braggadocious behavior we’ve come to expect from Americans. And compared to us, I guarantee you’re not well traveled anyway. Maybe by American standards. Also don’t discount the difficulties you will have with language acquisition over the age of 50. I see Americans here all the time bumbling around with absolutely unintelligible Spanish and French. You don’t want to be that person.

OP doesn't need your snarky advice, she posted in shorthand on an anonymous message board. We all know what well-traveled means and if you think she is only well-traveled for an American, so what? This is DCUM, most of us are American.

PP here. Please, by all means, educate us. What does “well traveled” mean to an American? Florida plus Bahamas? .

Are you asking for a geography lesson of Europe v the United Statea?

I’m not sure what you’re asking. Visiting US States is not like visiting European countries.

I am asking if you need a geography lesson because the US is enormous. Europeans can hop on a train and be in another country the same way Americans might travel from state to state. Of course it is easier for Europeans to travel throughout Europe. That's not a flex.

OK sure. Visit Alabama and Austria and tell me which provided a better cultural experience. Or Norway and North Dakota. It’s not the same my dear.

What are you trying to say? I've been all those places and enjoyed them all. No they're not the same, which is why I chose to visit them. They all have different cultures and that's a good thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:European here. Word of advice OP: don’t tell people in Europe that you’re “extremely well traveled traveled.” That would be social suicide and exactly the type of braggadocious behavior we’ve come to expect from Americans. And compared to us, I guarantee you’re not well traveled anyway. Maybe by American standards. Also don’t discount the difficulties you will have with language acquisition over the age of 50. I see Americans here all the time bumbling around with absolutely unintelligible Spanish and French. You don’t want to be that person.

OP doesn't need your snarky advice, she posted in shorthand on an anonymous message board. We all know what well-traveled means and if you think she is only well-traveled for an American, so what? This is DCUM, most of us are American.

PP here. Please, by all means, educate us. What does “well traveled” mean to an American? Florida plus Bahamas? .

Are you asking for a geography lesson of Europe v the United Statea?

I’m not sure what you’re asking. Visiting US States is not like visiting European countries.

I am asking if you need a geography lesson because the US is enormous. Europeans can hop on a train and be in another country the same way Americans might travel from state to state. Of course it is easier for Europeans to travel throughout Europe. That's not a flex.

OK sure. Visit Alabama and Austria and tell me which provided a better cultural experience. Or Norway and North Dakota. It’s not the same my dear.

Already been to all those places.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is very hard to answer as it’s so specific to your tastes! Finding a community of people who will accept you (not that people will be horrible to you anywhere, but realistically you are mostly going to be friends with expats) is going to be the hardest part and you’d need a bigger town for that. I would also say that most people who do this already have the place in mind, so I think you need to do much more research - as in, many more trips - before you should even think about buying. Having owned a home in France for a long time, there are so many things that are still surprising and unexpected, and that is with having spent 1-4 months of my life there every year since I was a child!

+1 OP don't discount how difficult it will be to move somewhere in your 50's and become a part of the community. Some small, charming town is going to be more insular and other 50-somethings who lived there their whole lives aren't going to open their social circles to you. Compounding that difficulty is living there only 4 months per year.

Plus how do you plan to maintain the home the other 8 months each year?

This. I've lived as an expat in Lisbon for ~10y, 1y in France and 1y in Japan, and socializing is challenging if you don't live there full time - and even moreso if language is an issue. We have friends who split their time between Lisbon & London. Their Airbnb'ed flat in London was a maintenance nightmare; their Lisbon flat got broken into; and their rural quinta had ongoing irrigation/plumbing issues that never seemed to get resolved. They never picked up Portuguese and struggled socially even with expats because people don't want to invest time getting to know you when you're going to leave in a few months.

Cascais (at least the cute part in center of town) is outside of your budget, OP. Unless you're willing to compromise for a tiny shoe box. I think Porto would probably be ok still. But be warned if you ever get tired of the Schengen shuffle, immigration-related bureaucracy for Portugal is becoming a nightmare. We have friends still waiting ~1y on expired papers for their renewal appointment (can't leave without risking deportation and a Schengen ban). Our daughter's citizenship application has been stalled on step one for the past 2.5y.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is everyone so offended by the op noting she is well travelled!! We know what she meant.

Maybe OP can tell us herself in her own words.

[Anonymous]

We have a vacation home in Casis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is very hard to answer as it’s so specific to your tastes! Finding a community of people who will accept you (not that people will be horrible to you anywhere, but realistically you are mostly going to be friends with expats) is going to be the hardest part and you’d need a bigger town for that. I would also say that most people who do this already have the place in mind, so I think you need to do much more research - as in, many more trips - before you should even think about buying. Having owned a home in France for a long time, there are so many things that are still surprising and unexpected, and that is with having spent 1-4 months of my life there every year since I was a child!

+1 OP don't discount how difficult it will be to move somewhere in your 50's and become a part of the community. Some small, charming town is going to be more insular and other 50-somethings who lived there their whole lives aren't going to open their social circles to you. Compounding that difficulty is living there only 4 months per year.

Plus how do you plan to maintain the home the other 8 months each year?

This. I've lived as an expat in Lisbon for ~10y, 1y in France and 1y in Japan, and socializing is challenging if you don't live there full time - and even moreso if language is an issue. We have friends who split their time between Lisbon & London. Their Airbnb'ed flat in London was a maintenance nightmare; their Lisbon flat got broken into; and their rural quinta had ongoing irrigation/plumbing issues that never seemed to get resolved. They never picked up Portuguese and struggled socially even with expats because people don't want to invest time getting to know you when you're going to leave in a few months.

Cascais (at least the cute part in center of town) is outside of your budget, OP. Unless you're willing to compromise for a tiny shoe box. I think Porto would probably be ok still. But be warned if you ever get tired of the Schengen shuffle, immigration-related bureaucracy for Portugal is becoming a nightmare. We have friends still waiting ~1y on expired papers for their renewal appointment (can't leave without risking deportation and a Schengen ban). Our daughter's citizenship application has been stalled on step one for the past 2.5y.

That sounds rough. Why would anyone choose Portugal given those issues?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:European here. Word of advice OP: don’t tell people in Europe that you’re “extremely well traveled traveled.” That would be social suicide and exactly the type of braggadocious behavior we’ve come to expect from Americans. And compared to us, I guarantee you’re not well traveled anyway. Maybe by American standards. Also don’t discount the difficulties you will have with language acquisition over the age of 50. I see Americans here all the time bumbling around with absolutely unintelligible Spanish and French. You don’t want to be that person.

OP doesn't need your snarky advice, she posted in shorthand on an anonymous message board. We all know what well-traveled means and if you think she is only well-traveled for an American, so what? This is DCUM, most of us are American.

PP here. Please, by all means, educate us. What does “well traveled” mean to an American? Florida plus Bahamas? .

Are you asking for a geography lesson of Europe v the United Statea?

I’m not sure what you’re asking. Visiting US States is not like visiting European countries.

I am asking if you need a geography lesson because the US is enormous. Europeans can hop on a train and be in another country the same way Americans might travel from state to state. Of course it is easier for Europeans to travel throughout Europe. That's not a flex.

OK sure. Visit Alabama and Austria and tell me which provided a better cultural experience. Or Norway and North Dakota. It’s not the same my dear.

What are you trying to say? I've been all those places and enjoyed them all. No they're not the same, which is why I chose to visit them. They all have different cultures and that's a good thing.

I agree. What a narrow minded simpleton that PP is.